It is an actively managed core plus bond ETF that centers on US investment-grade bonds and adds a portion of high-yield bonds. It diversifies across Treasuries and high-quality corporate bonds, then adds some high-yield and emerging-market bonds to seek extra return.

It suits income-oriented investors who want extra return from a core bond portfolio supplemented with some high-yield bonds, and who are willing to accept interest rate and credit risk.

The ETF is run by BNY Mellon using an active management approach.

The fund diversifies mainly across investment-grade bonds such as Treasuries and high-quality corporate bonds, while adding some high-yield bonds, including high-yield and emerging-market debt, to pursue extra return. It actively adjusts duration and sector weights, but its high-yield allocation exposes it to credit risk.

• Combines core bonds with high-yield bonds
• Active sector and duration adjustment

Assets under management (AUM) stand at $342.2M, and the expense ratio is 0.40% per year.

The main point of comparison is its core plus strategy, which adds high-yield bonds, versus aggregate bond ETFs that focus only on investment-grade debt.

Core plus bonds are driven by interest rates, credit spreads and the economy. They tend to perform well when rates fall and credit conditions improve, and weakly when rates rise or credit conditions deteriorate. Because of the added high-yield exposure, both returns and risk tend to be higher than for aggregate bonds.

Fund flows into core plus bonds shift with the rate environment, risk appetite and income demand, and money sometimes moves into this product category when demand for extra return grows. It is also worth watching how performance changes with interest rate and credit conditions.

The pursuit of extra return and active management are its strengths, while interest rate risk, credit risk and manager risk are points to consider.

For exposure to aggregate bonds focused only on investment-grade debt, direct substitutes include IUSB, and for another core plus bond fund, products such as JCPB are also worth comparing. For multi-sector active bond exposure, products such as PYLD can be considered as well. The three products shown in the table, IUSB, JCPB and PYLD, follow aggregate bond, core plus and multi-sector strategies respectively, and differ in high-yield weighting and management style. What sets this ETF apart is BNY Mellon's core plus management.

Here are the points to review before investing in BCPL. The pursuit of extra return and active management are appealing, but interest rate risk, credit risk and manager risk should be checked in advance. It is also advisable to compare it with investment-grade aggregate bond and multi-sector products.

Rising interest rates and a deteriorating credit environment are the main short-term variables, and the high-yield allocation exposes the fund to credit risk. If sector and duration calls miss the mark, performance may lag, so results depend on the manager's skill.

It is a suitable candidate for income-oriented investors who want extra return from core bonds supplemented with some high-yield bonds. Investors who want to focus only on investment-grade debt should consider a product such as IUSB, while those who want core plus management should compare this product with one such as JCPB before choosing.